Cleantech Hydroxsys raises $3 million to secure New Zealand’s water
Summary
This follows a recent seed round raising more than NZD3 million, supported by investors who believe industry will increasingly seek cost effective, less carbon intensive methods to enhance wastewater recovery and reuse at scale.Research engagements have been ongoing between the company and the University of Auckland for more than a decade. The system employs the same core polyethylene material used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries and can withstand the highly variable and at times harsh conditions found in wastewater.One of the first areas of collaboration is the reduction of nitrogen discharged from dairy farms. Lab trials have produced a membrane able to screen out 99.5% of solids and over 90% of the total nitrogen contained in wastewaters, offering a pathway to reducing the impact on rivers and surrounding pasture, while offsetting the cost of synthetic fertilizers and even capturing concentrated nitrogen as a resource.Chris Macbeth, CEO of Hydroxsys, says, Partnering with the University of Auckland and the New Zealand Product Accelerator will advance our strategy of helping industry reduce the volume of wastewater at source before it reaches municipal treatment systems or waterways. In addition to the financial and reputational benefits for individual customers, this will have a positive knock-on effect in the social chain encompassing environmental and human health, infrastructure maintenance costs and carbon emissions.Additional collaboration with New Zealand Product Accelerator is planned in helping reduce the cost and carbon impact of existing systems such as Reverse Osmosis and helping to deliver humanitarian water solutions to communities where access to safe drinking water is limited.Mark Taylor, co-director of the New Zealand Product Accelerator, and Professor at University of Auckland, says Hydroxsys membrane technology is highly innovative and scalable, and meets the growing demand internationally for a whole of environment approach to sustainability. These research resources and specialised skills will speed up the deployment of Hydroxsys wastewater solution on farms, vineyards, dairy processing and other industrial settings throughout New Zealand and the world.According to a recent UN study, by 2035 the world will be 40% short of its freshwater requirements, yet outdated practices continue to be the norm.